Category

Published on

13 Jun 2013

Abstract

It is known that more than 1.5 million Americans were diagnosed with cancer during 2009, and half a million have died (Cancer Statistics 2009, ACS). In spite of considerable effort, there has been limited success in reducing per capita deaths from cancer since 1950. This calls for a paradigm shift in the understanding, detection, and intervention of the evolution of cancer from a single cell to tumor scale.

In response to this challenge the M-CNTC has assembled a preeminent interdisciplinary team of researchers and educators across the University of Illinois and clinical collaborators in the Midwest to train the next generation of engineers, physical scientists, and biologists to address the challenge of understanding, managing, diagnosing, and treating cancer using the most recent advancements in nanotechnology.

In This Series

Iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (MNP's), due to their small size, unique magnetic properties and the ability to manipulate these remotely, are promising materials for diagnostic, imaging, and therapeutics in biomedical applications. In this presentation, we describe the fabrication,...

We fabricate a new class of nanoLAMPS based on recent theoretical designs by the Bhargava group. A variety of methods are adapted to create alternating metal and dielectric layered nanoparticles with embedded Raman reporter molecules. These reporter molecules are then subject to the intense...

We are working to create multi-compartment scaffolds as regenerative templates for multi-tissue interfaces such as the tendon to bone junction (TBJ). Collagen-glycosaminoglycan (CG) scaffolds have previously been successfully employed in a variety of soft tissue regeneration applications....

Human Cytochrome P45017A1 (CYP17) catalyzes the 17 alpha-hydroxylation of pregnenolone and progesterone as well as the subsequent 17,20 carbon-carbon lyase chemistry of its hydroxylated products. CYP17 function plays a central role in human steroid hormone biosynthesis, and its activity is...

New Mounting experimental evidences suggest that cells can sense and respond to mechanical cues (i.e. substrate stiffness) and geometric cues in 2D and 3D culture models. Hence, engineered mechanical microenvironment can enable new in vitro mechano-biology studies, which are otherwise...

We have created a nanostructure substrate on which three-dimensional confocal fluorescence cell-imaging sensitivity is amplified for cell membrane and cytoplasm. The nanostructure substrate was fabricated using a plasma etching technique to create a randomized array of nano-pillars. Confocal...

Proteins perform most cellular functions in macromolecular complexes. Quantitative information on macromolecular complexes is scarce. The same protein often participates in different complexes to exhibit diverse functionality. Current ensemble approaches of identifying cellular protein...

Tissue health is critically dependent on vascularization to support growth and function following injury. In addition to multiple implications in the regenerative potential of other tissues, mesenchymal stem cells have been shown to promote vessel formation both in vivo and in vitro. Our recent...

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has a longstanding history of excellent research with regard to science and engineering, and the Global Health Initiative (GHI) at UIUC hopes to apply this research expertise toward the development of low-cost and resource-limited diagnostic tools...

Stem cells have demonstrated remarkable potential for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine through their ability for self-renewal and controlled differentiation. However, the development of optimal three dimensional (3D) scaffolds that overcome the limitations of 2D cell culture remains...

My research is focused at exploring the applications of a new class of gold nanoflower structure that exhibits interesting cellular uptake properties, tunable size and optical properties, and an exceptionally simple synthesis protocol. These properties make it an ideal platform for cancer...